Good day, Eh! It’s time for our next visit to St. Mary’s and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. I’ve added something new—a Smurfy Book Read to this post, which may or may not become a regular thing, especially since I’ve been reading much more lately. Usually, the more I read, the more ideas for writing and actual writing happen. Not so much, at least as of this particular post. The whiteboard is still painfully empty, but the Inductees never fail! I always enjoy going through them, picking out one to take a peek at, and sharing. So let’s keep it moving and check out our latest Inductee In An Instant…
Born: Jan. 8/1981, Vancouver, BC
Draft: 2002 - 1st Round, 9th overall selection by the Rockies from the University of British Columbia (signed for $1,850,000)
MLB Debut: Aug. 25/2004 (18,549th player in major league history) v Atlanta Braves, 5.0 IP, 6 H, 8 SO, 1 BB, 6 ER
Last Appearance: Oct. 4/2015 v TB Rays, 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 SO, 0 BB, 0 ER
Other Notable Top 10 Selections from 2002:
1.1 - RHP Bryan Bullington by the Pirates from Ball State
1.2 - SS BJ Upton by the Rays from Greenbrier Christian Academy (VA)
1.4 - fellow Hoser🍁 LHP Adam Loewen by the Orioles from Fraser Valley Christian HS (Surrey, BC)
1.6 - RHP Zack Greinke by the Royals from Apopka HS (FL)
1.7 - 1B Prince Fielder by the Brewers from Eau Gallie HS (FL)
Baseball America Scouting Report:
…He had his coming out party last year when he spun 12 shutouts: six in NAIA competition and six more as a member of the Anchorage Bucs of the summer Alaska League. He did so well with the Bucs--he was the league’s pitcher and player of the year, and top prospect--that the rival Anchorage Glacier Pilots picked him up for the National Baseball Congress World Series, where he earned MVP honors for working 14 scoreless innings...Francis is a polished lefty with solid stuff and a projectable body. The 6-foot-5, 200-pounder throws from a three-quarters arm slot with a clean, easy stroke and a solid, balanced delivery. He has good command of an 87-93 mph fastball with late movement and an average slurvy breaking pitch…He projects to go in the middle of the first round after going 7-1, 1.60 with 87 strikeouts in 68 innings this spring.1
Teams Played For:
Colorado Rockies (2004-08, 2010, 2012-13)
KC Royals (2011)
Cincinnati Reds (2014)
Oakland A’s (2014)
NY Yankees (2014)
Toronto Blue Jays (2015)
Our latest Inductee was inducted into the UBC Sports Hall of Fame in 2008, with the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame inducting the big lefty in 2020. Today’s Inductee In An Instant is …
JEFF FRANCIS
Smurfy Soundtrack
Smurfy Book Read
Short answer…a lot. Greatness comes at a great cost, and Wright Thompson dove into it with this one. If you’re looking for something to read as the weather turns a bit cooler/colder with a nice bevy and snack, you’re going to be doing well with this book.
Thank you for stopping by and checking in today. Until the next time and as always…
KEEP IT 80 GRADE!!!
